Student lost £17,000 life savings after scammers pretended to be from NatWest – and only got £20 back
James McKendry, 27, from Oxford, has been left a "broken man" after scammers emptied both his NatWest savings and current account of his life savings
A STUDENT who was conned out of "every penny" he had has slammed NatWest and Barclays for not doing enough to stop fraudsters stealing £17,000 from his bank account.
James McKendry, 27, from Oxford, has been left a "broken man" after scammers emptied both his NatWest savings and current account a week before he was due to fly to Canada to complete his PhD.
In total, the fraudsters stole £16,997 - £14,005 from his savings account, £1,126 from his current account and £1,866 from his overdraft - after tricking him into handing over a code generated by the card reader he had at home.
Despite warning his bank within 10 minutes of the scam, he was told that NatWest would need to investigate it before deciding whether to hand the funds back.
In the meantime, they issued a block on his account and alerted Barclays too, which was where the beneficiary account was held.
He lived off the last £100 of his overdraft to get by while he waited before being told by his bank seven days later that he wouldn’t be getting the cash back.
"The whole thing has left me feeling completely and utterly helpless," James told The Sun. "That money was supposed to help me start my future but now I have nothing.
"My mum even offered to remortgage the house but I couldn’t let her do that - it’s not her fault.
"The banks should have done more to get my money back. How can they not stop the transfer even after I warned them?
'I felt completely and utterly helpless'
"And why are Barclays letting fraudsters use their bank accounts to steal money? It’s disgusting."
Using a "number spoofing" scam, the thieves masked their phone number to make it look like NatWest was calling to warn him that his account had been suspended due to suspicious activity.
Double checking his online banking, the names of both accounts had been changed to “suspended”, leading him to believe that the caller was indeed from NatWest.
How to spot a fake Natwest call
HERE'S some advice from NatWest on how customers can keep themselves protected from scammers:
At NatWest we would never ask a customer to move money to another account to keep it safe from either scams or fraud.
If a customer receives such a request, they should decline this and report it to their bank immediately on a phone number they can trust.
We would also recommend that they call back from a different device or wait 30 seconds before using the device they received the original call on, if they do not have a different device.
The fraudsters, then transferred £14,005.35 from his savings account into his current account
Scammers used the same technique on ex-NHS worker and NatWest customer Jo Wilson, 61, who was conned out of £40,000 - her entire life savings.
He added: "I know I effectively authorised the transfer but the scammers must have had access to my bank account in the first place because they knew how much cash I had in there.
"They also changed the account names - how the hell could they get in my bank account?"
'My future depends on those savings'
Banks refund stolen cash if it’s been taken without an account holder’s permission, but they aren’t obliged to pay it back if a customer has consented to the transfer - even if they were duped into it.
Over £145million was lost in bank transfer scams in the first half of this year but only £31million refunded to customers, figures from UK Finance reveal.
From January 31, new rules will allow victims will be able to take their complaint to the bank or building society that received the transfer in a bid to get their money back.
Barclays only managed to recover £21.66 of James' money from the dodgy account because scammers had immediately split the funds transferring it again making it almost impossible to trace.
James started a page, begging strangers to help him fund the final research trip for his PhD or else face three years of hard work going to waste.
How to protect yourself from scams
HERE are some tips from Action Fraud about how you can protect yourself from these type of scams.
Don’t assume it’s authentic – professional-looking websites, adverts or social media posts don’t indicate that an investment opportunity is genuine. Criminals can exploit the names of well-known brands or individuals to make their scams appear legitimate.
Don’t be rushed or pressured into making a decision – a genuine bank or financial organisation won’t force you to make a financial transaction on the spot. Always be wary if you’re pressured to invest quickly or promised returns that sound too good to be true.
Stay in control – avoid unsolicited investment offers, especially those over cold calls. If you’re thinking about making an investment, get impartial advice from an independent financial adviser – never use an adviser from the company that contacted you, as this may be part of the scam.
Every Report Matters – If you have been a victim of fraud or cyber crime, report it to Action Fraud or call 0300 123 2040.
Since his trip at the start of October, he’s continued to work as a part-time in a restaurant making sure he earns enough to cover the bills - but is still relying on getting the cash back to fund a move to Canada in May to work with a leading professor in his field.
He says that without his savings, which he'd set aside to pay back student loans, fund his research trip and kick start his career, there’s a real chance he might not be able to move abroad.
"I just want my money back," said James. "I’ve worked hard to save the money while I’ve been studying and I feel completely robbed.
"This could seriously jeopardise my future."
A spokesperson from NatWest said: "We sympathise with Mr McKendry and appreciate this has been a traumatic experience for him.
"We take our responsibilities to preventing scams very seriously, and support the victim of a scam in the recovery of their funds on a best endeavours basis.
Latest in frauds and scams
"We understand that the Financial Ombudsman Service are currently investigating Mr McKendry’s situation, and we await their outcome."
Barclays said that it had blocked the account within three minutes of being alerted to the scam by NatWest.
A spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, the funds had already been removed from the account earlier that day. The account in question has since been closed.
"Barclays takes all instances of fraud and scams incredibly seriously."
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